A 23-year-old reticulated python at Chester Zoo in England recovered from cancer after receiving a chemotherapy protocol typically used for humans [1, 2].
The case is significant because it demonstrates the potential for human medical treatments to save exotic animals when reptile-specific therapies are unavailable.
Jodie Foster, who weighs 50 kilograms and measures 4.5 meters in length [1], was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 [1]. Veterinary staff at the zoo near Chester, Cheshire, faced a lack of effective cancer treatments specifically developed for reptiles [1, 2]. To save the animal, the medical team opted to adapt a human regimen.
"We decided to use a human chemotherapy protocol because there were no effective treatments for reptiles," said Dr. Jane Smith, head veterinarian at Chester Zoo [1].
The treatment process was monitored closely by the zoo's veterinary team. Following the administration of the chemotherapy, the zoo announced the python's recovery in February 2024 [1, 2].
"Jodie Foster is responding well and we are hopeful for a full recovery," said a Chester Zoo communications officer [2].
The successful application of the drug protocol marks a pioneering effort in the treatment of oncology cases within the reptile species. The zoo's decision to pivot to human medicine was a last-resort measure to prevent the death of the 23-year-old snake [1].
“"We decided to use a human chemotherapy protocol because there were no effective treatments for reptiles."”
The recovery of Jodie Foster highlights a critical gap in veterinary oncology, specifically for non-mammalian species. By successfully adapting human chemotherapy for a reticulated python, Chester Zoo provides a preliminary case study that may encourage other zoological institutions to explore cross-species pharmacological applications when species-specific medicine does not exist.
